Hurricane of Magic

by J. L. Hendricks

  The storm girls were huddled in an alcove of a store. Three humans blocked them from leaving. The store behind them had their “Closed” sign up. One girl was knocking on the door and jiggling the door handle. It appeared to be locked.

  “Rico, there are the girls. Kat and I will go over and incapacitate the acolytes guarding them.” I grabbed Kat’s hand and headed to the storm girls.

  “Don’t kill the men, if you can help it.” Rico called over his shoulder before he jumped into the fray staying in his human form.

  There were seven vampires fighting eight wolves. The men from Rico’s pack had shifted and were fighting in their wolf form right in front of all of the humans still here. I couldn’t tell who was who in wolf form. Rico had the only wolf form I knew for sure. He was the largest of his entire pack, so if I didn’t already have his shifted body memorized, I could still pick him out.

  I thought I might know which one was Damien. Theoretically, he should be the second largest wolf. There were two wolves who looked to be the same size. I wondered if they were Damien and Jose? All of the rest of the wolves were smaller than those two.

  Rico was still in human form when he approached a vampire from behind. For a moment, I thought Rico might get the jump on him. At the last second, the blood-sucker whirled around so quickly it made me dizzy just watching.

  I didn’t recognize this vamp from the storage facility. He was a ginger and not quite as tall as Rico. He was wearing a t-shirt from the local university, promoting their baseball team. The mascot looked like Bluebeard the Pirate.

  While I wanted to watch Rico kill the demon, I needed to focus on the storm girls and getting them away from the demented, vampire worshipers.

  “Kat, can you get a pink spell between the girls and the acolytes?” It would put up a force field to protect the girls while we took down the enemy.

  “Sure, I can try. Will the spell activate as soon it hits the ground? Or does it wait until the stone has stopped moving?” Kat pulled out a pink spell stone.

  “As soon as it hits the ground. Aim it for the corner of the store. Right were the alcove opens up to the entrance. It should give the girls enough space to stay safe until we take those three guys down.” While I wasn’t supposed to kill them, I certainly wouldn’t cry if any died while we fought.

  “Got it.” She aimed for the corner and threw it, kinda like a large dice.

  The pink stone hit right next to where I hoped it would and emitted a faint pink pulse before the shield went up. There was a very small space between the store’s window and where the shield ended. It wasn’t big enough for anyone to crawl through so I wasn’t worried about it.

  One of the acolytes tried barging through the field. He received a shock big enough to knock him out once he landed. The force of the shield threw him almost two feet away. He would be out for a while.

  The guy on the floor had dark black hair. It was long, past his shoulders. He looked more like a flower child, or reject from Woodstock, than an acolyte.

  “Guys, you can’t stand up against us. The girls are safe from you. Stand down, and we won’t harm you.” Kat used her authoritative voice, hoping to keep from hurting anyone.

  “We will fight until the death, if our masters wish it. Which they do. They are fighting to preserve our way of life, why shouldn’t we fight?” A strong man with brown hair stood tall and proud as he spewed stupidity from his brain-washed mind.

  “Try the violet stone. I want to see how it works on a human.” It did nothing for vamps. I should know since I tried it out back in the storage facility.

  Kat pulled the violet stone from her hand was about to throw it when the force field went down. Without the protection of the field, the girls would be in danger.

  “Screw this!” Kat yelled before turning on one of the bracelets. She ran at the two human acolytes left standing before they realized the shield was down.

  Kat reached out and grabbed both of them by their shoulders. The charm she activated was one I had already used as well. It was a one-time use charm. Once she used it, that was it. No more magic would come from the bracelet.

  Both vamp worshipers were electrocuted. They fell to the ground flopping uncontrollably and foam gathered in the corners of their mouths. With their eyes rolling to the back of their heads, I wondered if they were gagging on their tongues.

  “Kat, Rico said not to kill them. We have to do something.” I ran to the guy with brown hair and rolled him over on his stomach and foamy stuff came out of his mouth.

  His body started to relax. After about a minute of flailing on the ground, both men stopped and gasped before passing out. At least I hope they passed out.

  I reached down and felt for a pulse on his neck. It was weak, but there. I released a sigh, and I looked up into Kat’s worried face. “He’s alive.”

  “Bummer.” Kat could be cold, but I understood where she was coming from.

  “These guys are addicts. Which reminds me. Did you really want to feel a vampire bite you seductively?” I knew it wasn’t the time or place to talk about it, but she had really shocked me earlier.

  “I’ll tell you all about it later. Just know I do NOT want to experience it, ever. I just knew he wouldn’t be able to touch me with his fangs.” Kat reached down and checked the pulse on the other acolyte. “He’s alive too.”

  “What do we do? Stay here and protect the girls? Or join the fight?” I looked out and searched for Rico.

  Kat turned around and watched the fighting. “I don’t think they need us.”

  I watched as Rico beheaded a vampire with his bare hands. Although, to be fair, a part of its neck was ripped out. One of the wolves must have started it, and Rico finished it.

  Two wolves sprawled on the ground panting. Red blood stained their coats.

  Three of the vampires were down for the count, and add in the decapitated one Rico just dropped, there were only three blood-suckers left to deal with. It should be easy.

  One of the largest wolves, Damien I think, was fighting the ginger. The vamp’s clawed hand grazed the wolf’s snout. Damien rammed into the vamp’s stomach and pushed him close to us.

  The ginger turned around and smiled at me. He lunged for me before Kat could throw up a shield.

  He had his hand wrapped around my throat. “Oh, Rico. You might want to see what I captured.”

  “Let her go, now! Or I will stake you to the ground right before the sun rises and watch as you slowly burn to ash with the rising dawn.” Rico stalked closer to us and left the vampire behind him.

  The vamp tried to grab onto Rico, but lost his focus, and one of the wolves jumped him and ripped out his neck.

  “Your mangy mutt really shouldn’t have done that. I think Jenna’s going to pay for your impertinence. Tell your pack to stand down. Give me back my acolytes, all of them. Or I will kill Jenna right here in front of you.” The vampire holding me sniffed my neck.

  Gross! Why do they always do that? Can they smell my blood?

  “You can’t bite her. She’s protected by a very strong spell. It would repel any vampire who would bite her.” Rico inched closer to us. I couldn’t see Kat, I hoped she was figuring out a way to kill this guy before he could hurt me.

  “I’ll wait for her magic to wear off. She doesn’t have the strength to power it for long.” I saw out of the corner of my eye a smug expression on his face. Too bad he was mistaken.

  “It won’t wear off. A very strong witch protected all four of the dolls. He used his own essence in the spell creation.” Now Rico had the smug look on his face.

  Ginger’s grasp tightened on my neck and cut off my air supply. I scrapped at his hands, but he didn’t let go, until I almost passed out. “Interesting. I can’t bite you my dear, but I can strangle you.” His grip loosened a little bit, enough to let some much needed air into my lungs.

  “Rico, do as I say, or she dies right here. Pity, it would be a waste of such sweet blood.” The ginger cackled. He actually sounded like
one of those crazy cartoon witches.

  “Don’t, Rico!” I gasped out.

  I winked at him hoping he would get the hint. I had a plan.

  The ginger used his left hand to hold my neck. I used my right hand and started hitting him. I knew he would use his free hand to grab mine. When he did, I reached my other hand into my pocket and pulled out a spell stone.

  It was a yellow one.

  I wasn’t sure if the vamp noticed, but I know Rico did. When I tried hitting the vamp again, Rico moved forward. He was less than two feet away now.

  This was going to hurt. A lot.

  After taking a deep breath, I slammed the stone from my hand into the ginger’s thigh.

  I held my breath and closed my eyes as I felt the concussive blast tear me out of the vampire’s grasp and throw me into the waiting arms of Rico.

  Ginger was blown back against the windows of the store. Kat was ready and staked him in his heart the moment he landed. The guy probably didn’t even see it coming. Those concussive blasts tended to knock vampires out.

  My entire body was on fire. Not a single place on my body held no pain. If Rico hadn’t of caught me, I probably would have cracked my head open on the ground when I landed. As it was, I felt blood dripping from my nose, and my ears were ringing.

  Rico held me in his arms as the world around me went black.

  Chapter 29

  Jenna

  Light was trying to make its way into my eyes. I felt my eyelashes fluttering, probably the only part of my body which didn’t hurt. The rest of it was a dull pain.

  “She’s waking up. Call Rico in here.” I heard a male voice. It sounded soothing and familiar.

  “Jenna, can you hear me?” There it was again. The sound of an angel. I felt a soothing sensation envelope my entire body, and the dull ache went away.

  I tried to talk, but my mouth was so dry, it felt like the Sahara Desert.

  “Shh. It’s alright. You’re safe now.” Another voice said as he took my hand in his. It felt so warm, so right. I sighed my contentment.

  I felt a hand brush away my bangs, and a moment later, someone kissed my forehead. “Oh, Jenna. You scared me something awful. Why did you use the concussive spell? You almost died.”

  I didn’t know what he was talking about. I squeezed his hand before I fell back into nothingness.

  ***

  “Jenna, can you hear me?” The voice from earlier was back.

  I knew him. My eyelashes fluttered and this time I was able to open my eyes. Next to me sat a gorgeous man. One I knew protected me.

  What did he protect me from?

  “R…Rico?” My throat felt like sandpaper, scratching the wrong way.

  “Shh, don’t talk. You’re safe. Here, drink some water.” He lifted me forward just a bit and held a cup of water with a straw in front of me.

  I took the straw between my lips and sucked. It felt like new life was flowing through my body. I continued to drink, and my throat started to feel better.

  “That’s enough. You have to take it slow.” Rico pulled the cup away from me.

  “What happened?” I said hoarsely.

  “You used a concussive spell on a vampire who was holding you. Thank heavens I was close enough to catch you when the blast expelled you away from his body.” I felt Rico holding my hand, and a small smile automatically pulled at the corners of my mouth.

  “Please don’t do that again. Kat was making her way to stake the vamp. If you would have waited thirty seconds, she probably would have gotten him.” He pulled my hand up to his face and kissed the back of it. A ripple of pleasure shot out from my heart.

  “Thank you for catching me.” I cleared my throat, and it felt better. I also sounded better. “I didn’t know Kat was coming up behind me. It’s coming back. He was going to strangle me.”

  I reached my free hand up to my throat, and it was tender to the touch. I winced and pulled my hand away.

  “He did try to strangle you. When you used the spell, it wrenched his hand away from your throat and caused more damage. You’re lucky the witch’s council likes your moxy. Joseph called and asked for a healer.” Rico’s eyes blurred up. He looked like he was about to cry.

  “How long have I been out?” If a witch healed me, I probably was still in the mall.

  I looked around at my surroundings for the first time. This wasn’t the mall. I was in a bedroom, not mine. It was Joseph’s. I was in the twin bed he used the last time a vamp almost killed me.

  “You’ve been out for almost a week. If you hadn’t used so much magic, it probably would have taken a day for your body to heal. The witch who came by, Alaric, cautioned us all on the overuse of Magic.” Rico leaned over and kissed my forehead again.

  He put his forehead against mine. “Jenna, please promise me you won’t overdo the magic again. I won’t be able to handle losing you.”

  I brought my free hand up to cup his face. “Rico, I learned my lesson. I will only use what I have to in order to save my life, or the lives of others. No more. And I promise to take a few days in between.”

  “Thank you. Your sisters are worried sick about you. They’re waiting in the other room to see you.”

  “Wait, how was Kat? She used several spells in the mall. Is she alright?” I couldn’t remember how many she used, but it had to be close to what I used.

  “She didn’t suffer any ill side-effects. She slept for twelve hours when we returned, and then when she woke up, she was totally fine. Alaric thinks it might have to do with her shifter blood. She can probably handle more magic use than you, Sam, or Indie. So just keep this in mind, if you think you can keep up with her. You can’t. She has magic in her DNA. All paranormal creatures do.” Rico stood up and kissed my hand before laying it down on my stomach.

  “I’ll get your sisters. They’re going to be so excited to see you awake.” Rico turned and opened the door.

  When the door opened, I heard screaming and crying in the other room.

  “Oh, thank Buddha!” Indie yelled.

  “No, thank God! He’s the one who healed her.” Sam countered.

  All three of my sisters practically ran into my room.

  “Jenna! You’re awake! We wondered if you would ever wake up.” Kat sat on the chair Rico had been using. Sam and Indie stood next to her.

  “Hi, there. Can someone tell me what happened after I blacked out? Did we save the girls? Kill the vamps?” I had been out for almost a week and had no clue what happened with the fight.

  I was pretty sure I remembered Kat staking the ginger vampire after I used the yellow spell stone and nothing after that. My mind was a complete blank.

  “Of course. Did you see me stake the vamp with the red hair?” Kat’s eyes sparkled with her excitement.

  “Yes, that’s the last thing I remember.”

  “The red-head must have been their leader because once the remaining vamps saw what I did to him, they lost their fight. Rico and his pack easily killed them, after questioning them.”

  “What did he find out? Were they rogues? Or was the queen involved?” I remembered something from when I was at Castle Storage. It sounded like they might be rogues. Although, I doubted the queen was oblivious to what they were doing.

  “Turns out the queen didn’t even know this group. Well, one had been kicked out of the local coven a few years ago. He went on a blood binge around the country and picked up his own coven. These were all untrained vamps who thought they could do whatever they wanted.”

  “No way!” I couldn’t believe it. This was a pretty large group to go unnoticed.

  “They moved around from state to state, even spent some time in Canada and Mexico before coming back here. Their favorite snack food was freshman girls. They left a trail of drained bodies all over North America, until we killed them all.”

  “Did Rico tell the vampire queen about this?” I wondered how she took it?

  “He did. She was grateful we killed them all for her. If we hadn�
��t, and she learned about them, she was honor-bound to hunt and kill them all. No one is allowed to create a coven and not train them properly. It’s grounds for staking.” Kat seemed very excited over this news.

  “I’m guessing there’s more? You seem very giddy.” I tried to sit up further in my bed but needed help.

  Kat assisted me in getting situated before continuing. “The local witch’s coven was so impressed with what we did they want to give us some more spells. We will get to keep using magic as long as we continue to train and promise to not overuse the spells.”

  “Wow! That’s huge!” I was shocked. Why would they want to keep supplying us with magic?

  “They are even going to make us more charm bracelets with the force field in them. The leader of the coven promised to make them last longer, too. They still won’t be rechargeable, but we can protect ourselves better. If you’d had another one of those bracelets, the redhead never would have gotten ahold of you.” Kat did have some seriously great news to share.

  I was flabbergasted. “Okay, so tell me about the rest of the fight? And what happened to the girls?”

  “There really wasn’t a fight after you passed out. The wolves quickly killed three more vamps. The rest asked for lenience. As if.” Kat snorted, and Sam and Indie laughed.

  They really didn’t have any training. All vamps should know the penalty for what they did was death. No matter who you were.

  “And the girls? Are they going to be alright?” I couldn’t imagine what they were going through. They would probably never finish school, at least not here.

  Indie began telling me about the girls, “They are going to be fine. All of them were seriously low on blood, not surprisingly. So they all received transfusions when the ambulances arrived.”

  “One has already been released. She went home. I think she’s going to transfer to a school closer to home next year and take the rest of this year off. In fact, all of the girls have requested to be pulled from classes. I can’t blame them.” Indie was wringing her hands in front of her body. She did this when she was really upset or nervous. It was one of her tells.